SA Greens join with traditional owners in saying ‘no’ to waste dump

by Greens' MLC Mark Parnell

April 29th, 2016 1:00 pm

State and Federal South Australian Greens are calling on the community to stand together with traditional owners who are fighting against having a nuclear waste dump on culturally significant land near the Flinders Ranges.

The Greens acknowledge that Australia must take responsibility for managing our own nuclear waste, however the Government has not made the case for dumping it in outback South Australia. The Greens have called for Lucas Heights waste to continue to be stored on site and for hospital waste to be properly audited and only moved if found to be unsafely stored.

“It is ludicrous that this beautiful environment, that the traditional owners have strong spiritual ties to, is even in consideration to host a nuclear waste dump, let alone it being the sole location left on the list,” SA Greens Senator Robert Simms said.

“I visited the site and met with Adnyamathanha traditional owners last month and their message is clear – they do not want this dump here and The Greens will stand with them to get this land struck from the Government’s list of proposed sites. It’s time for all opponents of this nuclear waste dump to rally around their support for the traditional owners as they enter this fight for this precious, culturally significant land.”

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said, “If our pristine Flinders Ranges become known as the nation’s nuclear waste dump, the effect on tourism and local jobs will be devastating.

“The government’s short-sighted plan to dump nuclear waste in one of our state’s most important tourism hotspots will be a disaster.”

SA Greens MLC Mark Parnell said, “The Barndioota site, nominated by former Liberal Senator Grant Chapman, is not privately owned land but is rather a perpetual crown lease for the purposes of agriculture and personal residence. This means that this project cannot go ahead without the agreement of the State Government. They will have the final say.

“Currently it’s illegal to build a nuclear waste dump in SA. It is also illegal to import nuclear waste into SA or transport it over state roads.

“The response this morning by Minister Koutsantonis shows how far the Labor party has back flipped in such a short period of time. Under former Premier Mike Rann, they legislated to stop the dump and even took it to the High Court. Now they are effectively a party to the proposal, given they have ultimate ownership of the land in question.”